“In Adversity there’s humour”

Being English: 

Invent a game. Get the world to play it. Get the world to play it better than you. Invite the world round for a tournament... Lose!

An Englishman, Scotsman, Welshman and an Irishman… all walk into a bar – because none of them are playing in the Rugby World Cup!!! Heard this before we know. 

The history of rugby union was born long before the 19th century, but the formation of the Rugby Football Union came in 1871. The code was originally known simply as “Rugby Football”.

World growth started within the British Empire, but by the end of the 19th century, rugby union had spread far and wide.

The humble beginnings of taking a new sport and sharing with the world, seems fitting that we invite the world ‘round to ours’, to enjoy a sporting festival and share new sporting records, and greatness….urm!

Not all the records are great, with research and history telling us this!

The first World Cup that England has not progressed out of the group stages. The first World Cup that any host nation have not progressed out of the group stages. The first time no Northern hemisphere team has made it to the semi-finals.

Alas the humour… not the first sporting tournament that England have somewhat underachieved…!

Lets hope the recovery starts soon and progresses quickly.

Sport, Sponsorship, and Successful Partnerships

Is sport a great vehicle to maximise your marketing?

Sport offers great sponsorship opportunities, providing local, national and global exposure for brands. I recently read an article on Duracell and their sponsorship with the Rugby World Cup, as well as a great read, helped by my enthusiasm and love of most sports, this really registered with me and how brands, through association, really benefit with their partnerships in sport.

A statement of intent… is quoted in this sponsorship.

But how does a brand choose the right sport? The sport has to be popular, well supported and watched. It has to be a good fit to the brand too, making sure the brand stays credible and strong throughout any partnership. The return has to be worthwhile.

And so do any off-shoot opportunities too… put your marketing hat on and fix Duracell and Rugby together, longer lasting, strong, endurance, power, energy, conversion… there is a host of great openings to align this sponsorship.

But one thing remains key to all this - the audience. Who will the brand be targeting via rugby, and how will their message reach the masses? Surely this is the ultimate goal, the immediate step to launching any successful partnership. How will this work for us.

I’m sure the people at Duracell have this well covered, they have huge stories going on behind this, and the Rugby World Cup is an ideal platform to assist.

Which then drew me closer to thinking about other sports, and when you look at any sport, you can instantly associate a brand sponsor. Football, Tennis, Golf, F1, and the brand lists are starting to grow already.

So how does a brand choose its associated sport? Or does the sport throw open an opportunity for a brand. We like to call it great research. We help make sure a partnership will maximise the audience awareness, exposure and ultimately help grow brand awareness and then sales. Chosen well these partnerships can continue to grow in unison for a long time, and the key to help this growth… is consumer driven.

Read the Duracell and Rugby World Cup article here

https://www.marketingweek.com/2015/08/26/duracell-uses-rugby-world-cup-sponsorship-to-push-statement-of-intent-ahead-of-completion-of-sell-off/?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1